239 



probably liave added nearly as uiauy more from among my forty speci- 

 mens, but what I here give will suffice for the present. I would pre- 

 mise their discussion with the statement that each one of the figures 

 has been made very carefully with a camera lucida, and are all magni- 

 fied, so far as possible, the same. 



In the Transactions of the American Entomological Society (vol. xiii, 

 p. 302), I ventured the opinion that what had previously been considered 

 as the two sexes of Belrosia hifasciata in reality represented two dis- 

 tinct species. The reasons that I gave were the differences in the 

 lengths of the antennal joints and the course of the last section of the 

 fourth longitudinal vein, to which Townsend has recently added the 

 bristles of the facial ridges. Api)arently without due deliberation, 

 Brauer and Bergenstamm later* made use of these characters to dis- 

 tinguish the forms generically. 



As most of the characters which these authors use for this group 

 seem of doubtful value, I will quote rather fully from their writings, as 

 follows : 



VibrissiB reacliiug beyond the middle of the face. Head swoIIcd, as in Gonia. 

 Face perjiendicular, os somewhat retreating. Vibrissa! aujjle situated rather high 

 above the oral margin, the latter somewhat projecting below WiUistoniidw 



Sides of the face broad, hairy on the npper part only. Third joint of the anteuuie 

 2-3 times as long as the second, long, linear. Arista thick, second joint short. Male 

 without, female with, 3-4 orbital bristles. First posterior cell terminating before 

 the tip of the wing, open. Angle with or without a small stump [Faltenzinke]. 



Third joint of the antenme not three times as long as the second (2-2|). Angle of 

 the fourth longitudinal vein approximated to the posterior margin, V-shaped, with 

 a small stump. Claws of the male much elongated, of the female short 



WiUistonia esiiriens, licincta, etc. 



Angle of the fourth longitudinal vein obtuse [1. e. rounded, stumpfwinkelig], not 

 approximated to the border, separated at least as widely as from the posterior cross- 

 vein. Claws of the male short and like those of the female. Third antennal joint 

 fully three times as long as the second Latreillia hifasciata 



I have omitted some portions of the diagnoses as irrevelant, and have 

 inserted W. bicincta from their later list. 



It seems that the authors nutst have studied additional material later, 

 as in the second part of the work [p. 45) they say that " the length of 

 the antennal joints will not distinguish between the two genera, WiUis- 

 tonia and Latreillia, and should be stricken from the diagnoses." They 

 still retain the two genera and the "family," however, apparently upon 

 the antennal and neurational characters. 



Let us now compare the figures (see Plate I). In Fig. 9 it is seen 

 that the third joint of the antenn;Te is bat 1.38 times the length of the 

 second joint, and tlie last section of the fourth vein (0?>) is angulated and 

 with a stump of a vein. The figure clearly represents a WiUistonia B. 

 and B. In Fig. 1 the third joint is longer, and there is no stump of a 

 vein; still, the species will go readily in WiUistonia by throwing out 

 the character of the " stump." Fig. 2b shows the species to be a Latreil- 



* Die Zweill. d. k. Museums zu Wien, vol. iv, p. 29. 



